Manangoi leads Kenya contigent in 1500m at the World Championships

World silver medalist Elijah Matonei Manangoi will lead the kenyan contigent at the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships in London.

Manangoi who has been in the best shape this season running twice world best at the Doha and Monaco Diamond League crossing the line with 3:31.90 and 3:28.80 respectively.

The Rongai based runner whose training partner Timothy Cheruiyot finished seventh placed at the 2015 world championships in Beijing has also been in great shape winning the Rabat Meeting and also setting his personal best at Monaco with 3:29.10.

The defending champion Asbel Kiprop has had an up and down season will likely try and prove the world wrong as he has perfomed below the expectation both in Kenya and at the Diamond. The three time world champion comes to the field with a season best of 3:33.17 .

The 2014 World Junior record holder Ronald Kwemoi will be making his first appearance at the World Championships stage but he comes with a personal best of 3:28.81 he set in 2014 in Herculis,Monaco. The 21 year-old won the 1500m at the Athletics Kenya trials at Nyayo Stadium crossing the line in 3:30.89.

Matthew Centrowitz ran a masterfully controlled race to claim the Olympic title last summer and the 27-year-old has never finished lower than eighth in the seven major 1500m finals he has contested indoors and outdoors.

Centrowitz’s season hasn’t gone entirely to plan – and he was even on the cusp of withdrawing from the US Championships after sustaining a mid-season adductor injury – but he is returning to form again after finishing second to Robby Andrews in their domestic championships.

The likes of Bahrain’s Sadik Mikhou (3:31.34) and Ethiopia’s Aman Wote (3:31.63) both feature prominently on the world list but neither of them have much in the way of championship form. By contrast, Nick Willis from New Zealand and Abdalaati Iguider from Morocco are midpack on the season’s lists with 3:34.74 and 3:34.99 respectively but they are perhaps the two most experienced athletes on the entry list and are both dependable big-time performers.

European champion Filip Ingebrigtsen from Norway could be a threat in a slow race while 800m specialist Marcin Lewandowski will contest the 1500m for the first time in a global championships. Lewandowski claimed the European indoor title at this distance in Belgrade in March and set a Polish record of 3:34.04 in Monaco last month.

Other long shots include Brits Chris O’Hare and Jake Wightman, who have both taken wins on the IAAF Diamond League circuit this summer, while Spain’s Adel Mechaal has been in good form this season over 1500m and 3000m.